UNIVERSITY PARK -- SMU coach Tim Jankovich loves to talk about his team's heart and ability to fight for 40 minutes. For the first 20 minutes, the team looked lost.

But for the final 20 minutes, SMU was that exact team Jankovich has raved about. The Mustangs battled and turned a double-digit deficit into a double-digit victory.

SMU snapped a two-game skid and defeated Temple, 68-52, Saturday night at Moody Coliseum. It was an important win for the Mustangs, who improved to 3-2 in American Athletic Conference play -- a game behind Houston and Tulsa for the conference lead -- and 13-4 overall.

Temple fell to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in AAC play.

This was a good win for an SMU team that toyed with its starting lineup Saturday. Emmanuel Bandoumel got the start for Feron Hunt, who has been dealing with tightness in his back throughout the end of the week. Additionally, Isiah Jasey got the start for Ethan Chargois and, at 6-10, was a bigger option inside for the Mustangs against a defensively sound Temple team.

Temple went on a 12-0 run to take an early 16-8 lead. From there, the Owls managed to stretch the lead to 11 with 6:01 remaining in the first half. In a nine-plus-minute stretch, Temple went on a 19-4 run, as the Mustangs couldn't get its offense out of neutral.

SMU, however, played good defense and managed to go into the half only trailing, 27-25. The Mustangs only made 10 of 32 (31%) in the first half.

The second half belonged to SMU, as the Mustangs outscored the Owls, 43-25, in the final 20 minutes. The Mustangs used an 11-0 run to take a 38-30 lead with 15:22 remaining. Tyson Jolly and Kendric Davis hit big buckets to fuel the charge.

From there, SMU methodically took control with underrated defensive play and a monster night from Jolly, who had struggled offensively from the field the last three games. Jolly scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. He also had 14 rebounds in the win.

Jolly wasn't the only SMU player with a double-double for the night. Isiaha Mike finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Davis just missed a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine assists.

Jake Forrester led Temple with 14 points and seven rebounds. Nate Pierre-Louis added 12 points and six boards, and Quinton Rose added 10.

SMU next prepares for a rematch with East Carolina. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.